If you happen to be among the growing active Instagram users that keep track of the site every day, it is easy for time to quickly fly by. This is even more noticeable when you spend most of your time creating plans for your content, outlining strategies for your Instagram accounts and doing your research on hashtags and major keywords of the site. The quick changes that happen on the platform make it challenging to discern trends, but there is one trend that has stood out for a long time – the Instagram story.
There is a reason why this tool is on the radar of many brands, both major and minor. Its popularity has been on the increase, because it gives businesses an easier way of marketing themselves as opposed to the traditional methods of media. In fact, it increases your engagement levels more than what a photo post would do – and you may not need to turn to the buying of auto likes Instagram free for one post.
The rise of the Insta story has led to the question of when you will implement it. If you are considering using it as a means of branding, you can consider some ideas you may not have thought of, and helps you stand out from the competition.
Introducing your brand
Most of the time, Instagram stories will give you exposure to new audiences that have no idea of who you are, at least not yet. This makes the story a perfect way of introducing who you are and what your business is about.
Many accounts will rely on their bio to make themselves look good. Although it is a great way of marketing yourself and allowing people to see who you are, it is not the only way. The introduction of the Highlights feature that happened recently provides an alternative to your bio in terms of telling the story of your brand.
The best way to think of the Highlights section is as a shorter trailer of your brand. When you see it this way, it will become a good way of showing what you are about and what your business can offer.
Consider doing takeovers of stories by other people
Among the many trends that are increasing in popularity is the collaboration of influencers with smaller accounts and other people. This is a brilliant method of gaining exposure, since it makes other users aware of you and your brand. However, many brands will tend to do this strategy by paying for some sponsored posts or ads on the feed of an influencer, then they cross their fingers and hope for the best.
You do not have to follow this method though, because you might not get the interactions you wanted anyway. For this reason, you can consider doing a stories takeover, which is a new trend. This involves you choosing an influencer, and they take over your feed for some a short time, such as a day, then they produce exclusive content.
This method actually works better than the standard collaboration idea, since the purpose of the followers of the influencer is different. They will not be forced to follow you for the sake of following you but they will see what the influencer is doing and be encouraged to check your account out. This is a more subtle form of promoting your account, which helps you increase your reach and increase your traffic levels.
Conducting user research through polls
If you want to do some research on your audience, polls are a great way to do that, and you can achieve that through Instagram stories. The information you get from your followers will help you make better and stronger content that resonates with them in better ways – so instead of simply doing something for pure entertainment, consider the content that your audience wants to see.
An example would be focusing your content on travel destinations if your niche is in travel matters, and asking your audience if they are interested in seeing such things on their feed. Do not assume they will like it – the answers they give may surprise you, or they can suggest better ways of handling that content, differently from what you initially thought. At the end of the day though, you will learn more about your audience and the things they love.
Using stickers, fonts and GIFs
User generated content is very popular for a reason – it allows various people to bond over content that they consider funny or entertaining without forcing those interactions to happen. One of the most popular sources of GIFs, for instance, is Giphy – a company that has had a rocky relationship with Instagram in the past, but has redeemed itself and is now at the forefront of the scene.
Making these contents will help you stand out and make your brand more relatable, especially because Instagram is a platform filled with young people. And that can only mean one thing – the more relatable you are, the more followers you attract. That is good news for you in a world of increasing competition online.
Give your competitors a shoutout
The reality of social media, especially Instagram, is that not many people want to help others succeed. You want a huge chunk of the audience to yourself, even though the slogan of the platform involves fostering a healthy sense of community.
The introduction of the Instagram algorithm has made it even worse, because it only ranks the most popular posts at the highest level, making it hard to succeed if you are not known. However, giving a shoutout to your competitors might be a strategy that works in your favor, since they might notice you and give you a shoutout.
In addition, it will give you some content for your Instagram stories, so you never know where it will lead you.
Final thoughts
Instagram stories are a good way of increasing your brand awareness, but you need to constant content flow ideas. Using these tips, you may be able to integrate your content even more and maintain a smooth flow as much as possible, which guarantees you greater exposure and traffic.